YSmart introduced a new pen on Kickstarter earlier in 2019 (and it is now available to purchase on Indiegogo. Since I have not met a pen that I did not like, especially one made out of virtually indestructible, go anywhere metal, I bought into the program. My pens arrived this week and here is my review.

First, this pen is tiny. I mean really, really small. For comparison, in the image above, we have the YSmart TIPEN resting against the ruler, end to end it is barely 2 inches long. For scale, above we have the Fisher Bullet Space Pen, a basic black marker, and a standard, freshly sharpened number 2 pencil. However, uncapped, the pen is even smaller.

Unlike the Bullet pen, which will take its cap on the back, and gives you an extra inch or so, the TIPEN cap will not fit on the back, leaving the pen at 2 inches. For those of us with long fingers, this becomes a bit of a problem when writing, especially if you are used to resting the pen against your finger.

This also impacts the quality of your writing, especially over time. You will not be writing long epistles with the TIPEN, but it is useful to have around for quick notes and shopping lists.

The ink is similar in feel to the Fisher refill, which is why I chose it for comparison. It is not a ballpoint ink per se, nor is it a gel ink (my preferred ink in non-fountain pens). It writes smoothly and with no skip once started. YSmart claims additionally that the nib is unbreakable and suitable for opening packages, paint cans, and non-writing functions.

For an EDC pen, it would not be my first choice. Despite its slightly larger size, I would select the Bullet pen, or its brother, the Trekker pen with a key chain ring attachment, but for an emergency pen, the TIPEN is a good choice. You can put it on your key ring and forget about it until you need it.